Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 107: It's still hard for Mr. Tao
The weather gradually became overcast, and as the drizzle fell, the clouds and rain quickly drifted away.

Liu Bei took shelter from a rainstorm on the way and when he arrived at the military camp he saw the soldiers eating after training and someone was feeding the horses with fodder.

The flags and banners were placed beside him. It was not appropriate to place the sword and bow on the ground, so they were placed on his legs. A large shield was placed upright in front of him.

Liu Bei carefully observed several nearby camps and saw that the manes of the military horses, war horses, and draft horses in the stables were neatly trimmed and brushed. He asked the stable boys to lead out a few horses and check their horseshoe nails.

Under the guidance of Zhao Yun, they checked the stored saddles, bridles, bits and reins for any damage.

Liu Bei saw that when Zhao Yun was training the cavalry, he also used fabric to cover the horses' ears and eyes, so that the military horses and war horses could become familiar with the movements of running and chasing, moving forward and stopping.

The knight is allowed to be close to the horse often and stay with the horse basically except for sleeping, which will make him more handy in battle.

When Liu Bei asked him if he had any experience to share with Taishi Ci, Zhao Yun smiled and said, "Zi Yi is also good at commanding cavalry, and he is as good as me in leading cavalry to charge into battle. I have been riding horses for many years and only have my humble opinions. How dare I offer you my foolish advice?"

Taishi Ci pretended to be unhappy when he heard this: "The commander of the Zhao cavalry has led the cavalry for many years and defeated the enemy many times, but he refuses to teach. Does he look down on me?"

"That's definitely not the case." Zhao Yun said anxiously.

He has never been arrogant, so it's no wonder that he looks down on Taishi Ci. He is just used to being humble. How could he discredit me in front of the envoy?

Taishi Ci bowed and smiled, "Please let the Cavalry Commander point it out."

Liu Bei smiled and shook his head, holding the two men's arms, and explained: "Zilong, Ziyi has an open-minded personality, but he deliberately provoked you because I was there, so how could he fall into the trap."

"We have been through thick and thin together for many years. How could I not know your character?"

Liu Bei also said to Taishi Ci: "Zilong is highly valued by me. He is very brave and cunning in the battlefield. He can be called a powerful general. However, he is a humble person. Please don't push him too much."

Taishi Ci bowed and apologized, but Zhao Yun stopped him and said with a wry smile, "The way of cavalry is to use horses. Many horses are either injured during use or after use. If they are not injured by being too hungry, they are injured by being too full. Before a battle, it is better to make the men work harder than to tire the horses."

“Whether it is a gale or a severe cold, or a hot summer, or whether it is cloudy and rainy or whether you are marching day and night, you must pay attention to whether the horses are sick, tired or disturbed, and the cavalry commander must always be prepared for changes.”

To put it bluntly, horses are more expensive than people. Once there is a problem with a war horse or military horse, the cavalry is no longer cavalry.

Liu Bei ordered the military officers to beat drums and gather all the military officers above the rank of marquis from each camp into the tent.

After Qi arrived, Liu Bei said solemnly: "Although we have defeated Yuan Shao many times this year, we did so with our hearts set on the enemy. I have seen many soldiers ignore the coordination of the army formations and rush in recklessly when defeating the enemy. If this continues, we will surely become arrogant and fall.

Moreover, Yuan's army has more troops on the battlefield, while our army has fewer soldiers and is easily surrounded. We need to practice how to quickly switch formations from front to back, and switch left and right to advance and retreat in an orderly manner.

When marching, the circle formation is changed into a square formation, the dispersed formation is turned into a concentrated formation, the big flag is raised, the spears and lances of the troops are raised, the big flag is combined, and the large group stands in a cluster.

Seeing that everyone was in deep thought, Liu Bei said, "The winner of every battle lies in sharp weapons, strong soldiers and excellent formations. The winner of every battle lies in improving weapons, armor and formations."

The young men who were raised at the beginning taught them martial arts and reading, and over the years many of them were added to the camp as military officers.

Now we can practice more complex military formations, which will enhance our organizational capabilities and responsiveness.

Even if the soldiers under the command of the princes of the world have been standing still after being severely beaten by Liu Bei, he will continue to improve and optimize, and he must maintain the advantage.

We cannot learn from Gongsun Bogui's habitual use of cavalry without any changes, which allowed Qu Yi to figure out the pattern and then use a trick to almost wipe out the Baima Yicong army.

The longer you fight the enemy, the more you'll leak.

If Qu Yi had been so cruel to him, Liu Bei would have felt sad for a long time no matter which of the barracks was damaged. The soldiers he raised with his own hands, who worked tirelessly like taking care of their shit and piss, were his real foundation.

How could we not understand the grief and sorrow of the army's creators at the foot of Yubi City and in front of Chanhe Pond?

Liu Bei asked again: "In the past few years, whenever the enemy attacked our flanks or rear, I always led the central army to rescue them. If the central army was involved in the battle and the enemy cavalry arrived, how would we resist?"

A military officer said, "We can send the cavalry to help."

The officer retorted: "The cavalry is not always around, what should we do if they are not there?"

The military officer was speechless.

In a short while, there was a lot of discussion and the conversation was endless.

Liu Bei let them discuss it for a long time, and then he said, "If the army is attacked, one side will collapse if it cannot defend itself in time. If the flank is attacked, it will be difficult to rescue the vanguard. We should lead rescue efforts inside the main formation.

Two squads cooperate to form a square array and rush to the rescue, and the two camps are changed into a curve. The large array consists of two camps, one in front and one behind, which can be combined or separated without interfering with each other. In this array, no matter whether you encounter an enemy from the left, right, front or back, the other camp can react quickly.

Use the front arrow formation as the main attack formation for the enemy, with the big formation surrounding the small formation, from the battalion to the division, and from the division to the camp."

Seeing that the officers still didn't understand, Liu Bei sighed: "I'll have to wait until we're in training to point it out..."

This kind of formation relies on a large number of basic officers to be effectively commanded on the battlefield. When encountering an enemy attack, the square formation with a large number of people can rotate autonomously in the formation and defend in an orderly manner without disrupting the formation next to it and creating other gaps.

If you are proficient in this formation, even if the entire army is pressing forward and the enemy suddenly arrives, there is no need to worry about changes in other directions. You only need to turn the formation around on the side facing the enemy.

……

While Liu Bei in Qingzhou was busy with many affairs, Tao Gongzu, the governor of Xuzhou, was also having a hard time. He felt increasingly weak during his serious illness.

I know in my heart that I may not live long.

At present, the imperial court is in decline, and Emperor Liu is controlled by the bandits in Liang Province. He wants to make his son the governor of the province, but he is concerned about his son's lack of ability. He is afraid that he may not be able to defend Xuzhou and lose his life instead.

Xuzhou had powerful enemies on all sides, such as Liu Bei, the governor of Qingzhou in the north, Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou in the west, Yuan Shu of Yuzhou in the southwest, and I heard that Cao Mengde had come from Yangzhou in the south.

Apart from Liu Dai who looked weak and could be bullied, and Cao Cao who looked a little weak due to his unstable footing, Liu Bei and Yuan Shu were not easy to deal with.

When he was in good health, he would not be afraid of a few people, but now he was both physically and mentally ill. What should Xuzhou and his sons do?
Tao, the governor of the state, was the first to bear the brunt of the disaster. Not only was he not dead yet, but he was sold out by the gentry and wealthy families and was killed while lying on his sickbed.

Tao Qian privately consulted with the dependent nobles and wealthy families. If the governor was not confirmed quickly, outsiders would take advantage of the situation and Xuzhou would be surrounded by wars.

But no one was willing to take over, as everyone could see that the governors and provincial governors were a pit of trouble.

Yuan Shu, whose family has been three officials for four generations, has been eyeing Xuzhou covetously. Liu Xuande of Qingzhou has offended Tao Qian several times. Perhaps he will lead his army here one day. Who dares to stop these two families?

Being a county governor, he could still waver and surrender, but being a provincial governor would become a thorn in the flesh, and those who wanted to occupy Xuzhou would want to get rid of him as soon as possible.

It would be better to invite Mr. Tao to roast barefoot, and it will not be too late to die after everyone has chosen a new master for Xuzhou.

　Thanks to book friend 1361998199754186752 for the reward!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)